Good For Business

The black man and woman were kept from the glorious lights of knowledge at the start of this country, yet it still managed to shine through them as their creations lead ways for people of all skin colors. Many slaves were not allowed to read, yet Frederick Douglass became one of the most eloquent writers of his time, and ours alike. Through segregation and discriminations, lack of resources and school funding, black people still managed to break through and invent things that we will use for the rest of our time. Impressive is an understatement when discussing black philosophers, scientists, inventors and business owners and their success through times where it was closer to impossible to get proper education, resources and fundings to do so. Life gave the creators of our country lemons and sugar to make lemonade, yet black inventors and creatives did it with the mere seeds. To this day, black people still suffer from the systematic dispositions our people were put in during the Jim Crow era, and segregation by having to grow up in the same communities that continue to lack educational funding and proper resources. By making it near impossible to get high paying jobs, it also made it impossible to move out to the suburbs and places with high funded schools. Instead many were trapped in communities surrounded by liquor stores, and shops that promote the sale of various drugs. Through all this, many black people still shine through, and continue to shape America as we know it. There are so many amazing and intelligent black creators who push through any and every disposition thrown their way.

There are endless amounts of motivational African Americans who have shaped our daily environment. Many African Americans in the sixties were never able to find their roots and embrace their own culture, so they continued to create their own, and those influences continue to shape our country today. Although I could write on and on about how inspiring Frederick Douglass was to me, and how he found a way to do what he loved no matter what, or about how intelligent and impactful W.E.B Du Bois was in not only my life, but the subjects of sociology and activism as a whole, I’m choosing a woman who has changed my life views and inspired me to always shoot for more. It’s undeniable that to this day it is hard to be taken seriously in a job when wearing your natural hair, or even having an “exotic” name, and this brings on lots of struggles when trying to get a high paying job, or even a reasonable one. This, however, has not stopped Tiffany Copeland from picking up jobs and continuing to run a business. Not only that, but she finds ways to continuously provide by investing. These are all things I hope to do one day to not only set my future, but my family’s as well.

Black women go through so much hardship because not only are they oppressed, but they are looked at as strong which causes more criticism and obstacles thrown their way along with less help. This has never stopped Tiffany from succeeding though, and she does it all proudly rocking her natural hair. She works as a manager at a popular restaurant, and also runs a tee shirt business on the side to help support her family. I met Tiffany while working at the popular restaurant and from that day on she took me in and gave me life advice. It meant so much to me because I had always felt as if I lacked the proper guidance, and skills to make it in my future. I had always had plans of starting a business, but never had the motivation or time to. After speaking with Tiffany she showed me that it is possible to have a job and a business on the side, and that it would be hard, but it would all be worth it in the end. I stopped making excuses and started putting ideas on the table. Without meeting someone like Tiffany, I would’ve gone on in life doing the bare minimum, but instead I see all the potential, and the few doors that seemed as if they’d never open for me were now mere options to all the other doors I now see ahead. People like Frederick Douglass inspired me to always want more, but people like Tiffany inspire me to do more.